The Crimson may have depended heavily on young players at times this season, but its youth has never posed any problems.

“She plays with a maturity beyond her years,” said Le of Kanten.  “She organizes her defense and changes her style of play to suit each game’s conditions. Her ability to adapt to the game is what makes her such an exceptional goalkeeper.”

Kanten, who was named Ivy League co-Rookie of the Week in October, has been a solid fixture in the net for the Crimson during a season that has seen several goalie changes because of injury.

Junior goalie AJ Millet went down with a concussion early in the season, while sophomore keeper Jessica Wright and freshman goalie Cheta Emba have also been sidelined.

Kanten debuted in Harvard’s season opener at Long Island, finishing with two saves, and notched her first career win against Elon two days later. She opened up Ivy League play with a strong performance against Penn, coming up three stops and earning her first Ivy League Rookie of the Week award.

The freshman keeper kept it up for the rest of Ancient Eight play, finishing with a career-best nine saves against Brown on Oct. 15. Two weeks later in the Crimson’s final home match, Kanten made four stops in a 2-1 win over Dartmouth, outplaying her Big Green counterpart Tatiana Saunders, a goalie on England’s U-19 National Team.

Kanten, a native of Park City, Utah, recorded her 39th and 40th saves of the year on Saturday in her last game of a regular season in which she made 14 appearances.

Though it is in a goalie’s job description to be a leader on the field, Kanten’s teammates say they are impressed with how naturally she takes charge of the defense.

“She has stepped up to the challenge,” Le said. “She is definitely the general on the field.”